Page 16 of A Much Younger Man
“Tug is…Tug, you know?” Beck bit his lip. “When I first hit the road, I was pretty stupid. I practically shit myself if anyone even approached me. But then I met Tug, and he always knew what to do. He always had cash.”
I hadn’t missed the feral gleam in Tug’s eyes when he looked me and Cooper over. I felt at the time like he was sizing us up, either to offer his services or con us. “How did Tug get money, Beck?”
Beck flushed. “Truck stops mostly. Rest stops. Parks. He said there were always old guys who wanted a quick—”
“I get the picture.” Distaste turned my stomach sour.
“I never did that.”
Did I believe him? I wanted to. “You’re nothing like Tug.”
“Don’t judge. You have no idea what either of us is like.”
“I apologize.” I clamped my mouth shut. Even if Beck had accepted money for sex, I stood by my assessment. He was nothing like Tug. Not yet, anyway. But how long would it be before hunger and need and a society that didn’t give a crap made Beckexactlylike Tug?
“We hit the coast, and that’s when I started pulling my weight. People on the beach tip good, especially here. I thought we were doing okay. That we could maybe even find a place and stay here a while.”
“You said he scored here in St. Nacho’s? Where?” We had a weed dispensary, and I knew there was always meth around, but I had seen very little evidence of its use among locals.
Beck glanced away. “Somewhere. I don’t know where.”
“And that was a surprise to you.”
“Of course it was. I told you we made a deal. If I made it possible for him to stop selling his ass, he’d stop using. After we got into some trouble in Stockton, he was grateful for the break.”
I was sure Beck believed that. Tug had seemed sketchy to me, but even I would’ve rather he had a better choice than to sell himself.
Drug addicts were a hardnofor me. I always had the worry in the back of my mind that my clinic could be robbed and my staff harmed. I had a security system, and my pharmacy had a reinforced door and a deadbolt that locked from within. It probably still wouldn’t stop determined thieves, but it would give someone time to call the police.
“So the first time you realized he broke your agreement was last night?” Travis came from my office with the kittens in their crate.
“It’s feeding time—Oh.” He must have sensed the tension between Beck and me, because he stopped suddenly. “Am I interrupting something?”
Beck got up. “I should go.”
“Wait.” I couldn’t let Beck leave. Not when things were such a mess for him. If he took off, I might never see him again. I searched desperately for a way to buy time. “Do you want to help Travis feed some kittens?”
He froze. “I could do that?”
I read longing in his expression. “Sure. Okay, Travis?”
Travis nodded. “Sure. Of course.”
“Beck, you need to call the police and report the theft. You can feed the kittens while you’re waiting.”
He raked his hair off his face. “I’m not calling the cops.”
“Beck—”
“I’m not going to make trouble for Tug. I owe him, and he makes enough trouble on his own.” He glanced away. “If it weren’t for Tug, it would have been me selling my ass those first few weeks.”
Travis looked utterly shocked, and I couldn’t say I blamed him. But I couldn’t make Beck report the theft, and it would be a betrayal to report it for him. For now, I had to accept his decision.
“C’mon, Beck.” Travis jerked his head for Beck to follow him, and I watched as they walked toward the supply room.
Beck turned back. “I’m sorry for just…dropping all this shit on you. I was upset, and I didn’t know who else to turn to. I’ll get out of your hair as soon as I’m done with the kittens.”
“You don’t have to go.”
